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Weekly Run Down

And just like that September arrived and finally brought some cooler weather with it! This was an interesting week that started hot and humid, then we had lots of rain, flooding, and tornado watches from Hurricane Ida, and ended nice and cool. I'm not convinced the heat is gone for good, but I'll take this break from it for now. Let's do a recap of this week as we are welcoming September and the nice weather it may bring.

Training Week 12: Welcoming September

September 5, 2021view the post

It was another brutal week of weather, once again. I took a few of my runs indoors to keep them easier and give myself a break from the heat and humidity. This stretch of humid days has just been going on for too long. I don't think we have had a morning under 70 with less than 90% humidity all month. But eventually summer will end and it will cool off. For now, I'm running outside when I can but also embracing the treadmill.

Training Week 11: Embracing the Treadmill

August 29, 2021view the post

This was another rough week of weather. Not only was the humidity out of control, but we had rain just about every day. The forecast showed a chance of rain every morning, so there was no way to know when would be the best days for running. Since it wasn't actually raining most days, it was just ridiculously humid. We had some crazy thunderstorms at night too. But, I made it through week 10 of training, while trying to outrun the rain!

Training Week 10: Trying to Outrun the Rain

August 22, 2021view the post

back to reality: speed work

Training Week 9: Back to Reality

August 15, 2021view the post

This week I was off from work, with no vacation plans. So it was staycation 2021! Rob was off as well, and we had considered keeping Grayson home a few of the days but since he had missed so much time from being sick we sent him on his usual days. This allowed us to get a lot done around the house and do some relaxing as well!

Training Week 8: Staycation 2021

August 8, 2021view the post

I can't believe August is here and July is over! The summer is going by quickly, although some weeks are slower than others. This was another busy and stressful week but now I am off work for a week! I got through another week of training and now we are closing out July.

Training Week 7: Closing Out July

August 1, 2021view the post

This was a cutback week, and it was also much cooler out than last week. The lower mileage and lower temps made such a difference with my running! After last week I was feeling like every run was a bit of a struggle so this was a nice confidence booster. I will need to remember this feeling as my mileage and the temps go up again!

Training Week 6: Lower Mileage and Lower Temps

July 25, 2021view the post

Week 5 of marathon training is already complete! My runs are still pretty manageable and my mileage hasn't been much higher than usual. This week was extra fun because it was Runstock 2021! Let's take a look at training week 5 and Runstock 2021.

Training Week 5: Runstock 2021

July 18, 2021view the post

It was a challenging week of training for various reasons! The week started out pretty well, but went downhill pretty quickly. It was also pretty warm and humid most of the week, especially on my hard workout day. I just kept reminding myself to focus on effort. Overall, it turned out to be a pretty good week of training but I will need to continue monitoring how I am feeling and making adjustments as needed.

Training Week 4: Focus on Effort

July 11, 2021view the post

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Alright, my last post about the Richmond Marathon Alright, my last post about the Richmond Marathon (maybe). This one is about lessons learned/areas for improvement.

1) Starting in the right corral- I knew I wanted to start a little slow but I think I started too far back and I ended up boxed in later in the race. 

2) Increasing fueling- I think I did the best I could on this day but now that I know more about what works/doesn’t work for me I think I can try to get my carbs/hr a little higher for next time

3) Self-doubt- On paper I knew my training showed I could run a certain time. My coach knew I could run a certain time. But deep down did I believe I could run that time? I’m not really sure.

4) My right piriformis- This little muscle has been giving me trouble FOREVER and it likes to rear its ugly head the most during races. I’m working with a PT but it’s hard to address the issue when I can go months without any problems and then at mile 15 of a marathon it starts acting up. So while this is certainly an area for improvement I am not really sure what I’ll be able to do to keep it from happening next time.

5) Ignore the data leading up to the race- During race week my sleep scores were horrible, my HRV tanked, and my watch told me I was “strained”. I might just stop wearing it during the taper next time.

What lessons have you learned during a marathon or big race?

@richmondmarathon #racerecap
It’s been 5 days since the Richmond Marathon and i It’s been 5 days since the Richmond Marathon and it feels like a lifetime ago! I am working on my full race recap which I will post on my website but I wanted to share some reflections on here. Today I want to focus on what went well. Every finish line is an accomplishment, and while every race can teach us something I think it’s always important to focus on the positive.

First off, Richmond was a great race with amazing crowd support! There were some hills (a few steeper than I expected) but nothing crazy.

Fueling went well- after my train wreck of a run a few weeks ago I had to adjust my fueling plan and took out the Tailwind High Carb and went back to regular Skratch instead. I tried to make up for the difference with gels but my overall carbs per hour was a little less than it had been when using the Tailwind. I think I got about 65 g/hour so I’d like to get that up a bit next time but I didn’t get nauseous and took gels up until the end of the race.

Shoes felt good- during that same training run I had some top of foot soreness from my laces. I changed my lacing technique and had no issues on race day. 

Mindset- I did a lot of work preparing for the race mentally and was able to use those strategies during the race. I focused on one mile at a time and shifted my goals when I knew my original goal was not going to happen. 

Pacing- Even though I didn’t run my goal pace I was able to run fairly consistently without drastically slowing down at the end. 

Recovery- I felt pretty good following the race and wasn’t even sore anymore by Tuesday. This was probably the least sore I’ve been after a marathon.

Strong training cycle- this year I feel like I’ve been clawing my way back to where I was a year ago after several illnesses last winter and spring. I had a great training cycle with @lauranorrisrunning and I know I’ve made more progress than my race time shows.

Marathons are a huge investment so I really tried to make the most of the experience!

@richmondmarathon #racerecap
Happy Medal Monday! I can’t believe the Richmond M Happy Medal Monday! I can’t believe the Richmond Marathon was only 2 days ago. I’m barely sore (probably because I was trained for a faster time than I ran) and am feeling good.

I included a list of my marathon times on the last slide here, which I posted in my stories yesterday. I got some messages about how others can relate to feeling like their times “reset” at a certain point- whether it was after an injury, having kids, or just time off from running.

I think we can get so caught up in PRs that it may take away from the overall progress made in the process of training. Sure, there are runners who come back from having kids and immediately set a new lifetime PR. But many of us will need to chip away at our times to get to where we want to be.

Focusing on progress and the gains made in a training cycle vs a specific race time can help to keep things in perspective!

Now, I’m trying to figure out spring racing plans. What’s everyone running this spring?

#medalmonday
What a day! This race (and really, this week) was What a day! This race (and really, this week) was a rollercoaster. I knew pretty early on that my legs and my lungs were not feeling my goal pace. Each time I sped up it felt really hard- way too hard to not even be at 10 miles yet. So I just focused on running the effort that my body would allow. I used all the mental strategies I had to get through each mile. Ultimately, I wanted to run faster than my marathon last November, which I did by almost 2 minutes, making this a postpartum PR. More importantly, I smiled almost the whole time.

After finishing we had to rush to get out of our hotel room and spent the whole afternoon driving home. Over the past 2 days I’ve spent almost 10 hours in the car.

More to come soon…just hoping to get home and get some rest soon!

#richmondmarathon
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